Showtime's The Tudors: History For Dummies or Cultural Critique?

And so ends the first season of Showtime's ambitious Henry VIII drama, The Tudors, a show which I have inexplicably been unable to blog about until now. For those who did not religiously watch the show every Sunday - its first season very slowly chronicled the demise of Henry's relationship with his first wife, his courtship of Anne Boleyn, and the increasing popularity of Lutheranism within the king's court. All very interesting stuff, actually.

History buffs would probably scoff at the show's "history for dummies" approach, with even star Jonathan Rhys Meyers claiming an 80% accuracy rate. Up until the finale, the show moved at a rather laborious pace, essentially jumping between Henry being betrayed by an emperor (either France's or Spain's) and his constant desire to bone Anne (who is being pimped out by her father). I'll call this series "Deadwood meets Hercules: The Series." The dialogue was at times embarassingly clunky, with Meyers seemingly in over his head on more than one occasion. Thus, many laughs throughout the season were rather unintentional.

However, The Tudors may be one of the most accurate reflections of the postmodern view on history. The Tudors is less concerned with historical accuracy and more concerned with similarity. The excessive sex scenes and the sensationalist portrayal of religious corruption and scandal serve less to comment on a time we know little of, and more to comment on our present day situation. This is an era where a Republican administration can bypass democracy and popular opinion completely, in favor of their friends in big business, while religious leaders wield great power on social issues. In those terms, then Henry is just a more fit G.W. He arbitrarily appoints friends to high positions, yet turns on friends at the slightest hint of betrayal, is easily influenced by those more articulate than he, while managing to convince himself that what he's doing is God's work. Not to mention (and maybe this is just Johnathan's fault) - he doesn't seem too bright.